S2000 for a year?
08-25-2003, 10:24 AM
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S2000 for a year?
Can someone help me out with this? I want a S2000, but I am moving overseas in a year.
Money is not an issue at all, and I'd probably have the S2000 for 14 months before I move (assuming I would buy one today) and it will be in the garage for the winter months (Nov or Dec through March) depending on how bad the winter is this year (It was very bad last year, but in recent years there has been little snowfall)
I was thinking of buying a used 2000 - 2002 S2000, driving it for a year, then selling it for roughly what I paid, or a little bit less.
Is there any reason to avoid a 2000 (first year) or to get a 2001 vs 2002? I probably won't put more than 7-10k miles on this, and it will be garaged at all times.
I've looked on ebay and cars.com, what is the average selling price for a used S2000?
Should I worry about mileage? I was thinking (if this can get me a cheaper one) to get one with 20,000 - 35,000 miles, as that doesn't bother me, but is there anything with higher mileage S2000's I should worry about?
Thanks all for your advice
Money is not an issue at all, and I'd probably have the S2000 for 14 months before I move (assuming I would buy one today) and it will be in the garage for the winter months (Nov or Dec through March) depending on how bad the winter is this year (It was very bad last year, but in recent years there has been little snowfall)
I was thinking of buying a used 2000 - 2002 S2000, driving it for a year, then selling it for roughly what I paid, or a little bit less.
Is there any reason to avoid a 2000 (first year) or to get a 2001 vs 2002? I probably won't put more than 7-10k miles on this, and it will be garaged at all times.
I've looked on ebay and cars.com, what is the average selling price for a used S2000?
Should I worry about mileage? I was thinking (if this can get me a cheaper one) to get one with 20,000 - 35,000 miles, as that doesn't bother me, but is there anything with higher mileage S2000's I should worry about?
Thanks all for your advice
08-25-2003, 01:56 PM
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02 Will have a glass window opposed to a plastic one, slightly better radio (bit extra power, tweeters in the door), and I believe they tweaked the transmission to shift smoother and tweaked the engine ecu slightly (at least 02's usually dyno a little higher compared to 00's and 01's. 2000 & 2001 are identical.
If you're only going to have the car 14 months, I'd advise to get a used one. No waiting to VTEC (600 mile minimium break-in period until you can go over 6k rpms), and you would take less of a hit in depreciation. Money may not be an issue to choosing a car to buy, but I expect you would prefer not to take additional depreciation costs if you don't have to. If money is completely not an issue, I advise getting an Enzo.
Any mechanical problems (i.e. # 4 cylinder) should have been discovered by now on model year 2000's, so buying a 2000 is probably not particularly bad, though in my opinion it is always best to not buy a car in it's first year (Japanese cars matter the least in that regard, German's in the middle, and an American car in it's first production year you should keep your fingers crossed that something doesn't explode at some point). Still, it takes time to work stuff out in production. First year cars will usually have more small problems, though there is not anything I know of w/ S2000's that make that year particularly bad. That said, I did not do a lot of research on 2000 S2000's.
If I were you, I'd get an 02 - they are identical to 03's, and you don't take depr. on a new car you're going to sell in year. Buy it from a private individual, you'll be covered under honda warranty for the length of your ownership. You don't need to worry about mileage, but I expect a high mileage car will be much harder to resell as there are a lot of very low mileage S2000's. I wouldn't pay more than 26-27 for a 2002. You can buy a 2003 for under 30 before tt&l, if you have trouble finding cheap used ones.
If you're only going to have the car 14 months, I'd advise to get a used one. No waiting to VTEC (600 mile minimium break-in period until you can go over 6k rpms), and you would take less of a hit in depreciation. Money may not be an issue to choosing a car to buy, but I expect you would prefer not to take additional depreciation costs if you don't have to. If money is completely not an issue, I advise getting an Enzo.
Any mechanical problems (i.e. # 4 cylinder) should have been discovered by now on model year 2000's, so buying a 2000 is probably not particularly bad, though in my opinion it is always best to not buy a car in it's first year (Japanese cars matter the least in that regard, German's in the middle, and an American car in it's first production year you should keep your fingers crossed that something doesn't explode at some point). Still, it takes time to work stuff out in production. First year cars will usually have more small problems, though there is not anything I know of w/ S2000's that make that year particularly bad. That said, I did not do a lot of research on 2000 S2000's.
If I were you, I'd get an 02 - they are identical to 03's, and you don't take depr. on a new car you're going to sell in year. Buy it from a private individual, you'll be covered under honda warranty for the length of your ownership. You don't need to worry about mileage, but I expect a high mileage car will be much harder to resell as there are a lot of very low mileage S2000's. I wouldn't pay more than 26-27 for a 2002. You can buy a 2003 for under 30 before tt&l, if you have trouble finding cheap used ones.
08-25-2003, 05:02 PM
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Thanks. When I said money wasn't an issue I didn't mean I was swimming in seas of money, I meant that the difference in a used one and a new one is less than 10 grand, and that in itself is not a big deal to me.
I'd rather get a used one because of the reason said above - that is I would not take the huge hit in depreacation that any new car takes.
I'll take a look in the local papers and make some calls over the next few weeks and see what I can do. I've never bought a used car before, do I have to pay sales tax on it?
Thanks guys for the responses.
I'd rather get a used one because of the reason said above - that is I would not take the huge hit in depreacation that any new car takes.
I'll take a look in the local papers and make some calls over the next few weeks and see what I can do. I've never bought a used car before, do I have to pay sales tax on it?
Thanks guys for the responses.
08-25-2003, 05:11 PM
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It's all about condition. I'd look for a used one, completely stock, 100% dealer serviced, low mileage, perfect body, etc.
For minimum depreciation, look for a great deal on an out-of-warranty '00. Should be obtainable for low $20's, *especially* in the Northeast in the Fall. Since it's out of warranty, I'd invest a few bucks in a pre-purchase inspection as well, and of course to a carfax check to make sure it's not an insurance write off.
Although it varies from state-to-state, almost all (all?) states have sales tax on used cars, paid either to the dealer if you buy it from them or at registration when you bring in the paperwork. Typically taxed on where you live, not where you purchased it.
For minimum depreciation, look for a great deal on an out-of-warranty '00. Should be obtainable for low $20's, *especially* in the Northeast in the Fall. Since it's out of warranty, I'd invest a few bucks in a pre-purchase inspection as well, and of course to a carfax check to make sure it's not an insurance write off.
Although it varies from state-to-state, almost all (all?) states have sales tax on used cars, paid either to the dealer if you buy it from them or at registration when you bring in the paperwork. Typically taxed on where you live, not where you purchased it.
08-26-2003, 08:12 AM
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Didn't mean to be sarcastic about the enzo, just wanted to add a little humor.
The warranty issue is a good point. If you want to limit depr., I'd either get a car that is 1) out of warranty already or 2) buy one which is new enough and has a low enough amount of miles that the warranty will still exist when you sell it in a year. You will probably take a little extra depr. hit if you buy a car in warranty and it then goes out of it in the year of your ownership. The factory warranty is 3/36. Of course, buying a car in warranty has value, so this may or may not be good advise for you. You can also find used cars which have the tranferrable extended warranty, which will last past your ownership term of 1 year assuming normal mileage.
Thinking more about it, I'd probably follow pfb's advise. It sounds like this will be a 2nd car? If so the plastic rear window is not as important as a daily driver, since you will likely have the top down most of the time. There are a lot of low mileage S2k's out there, so finding model year 2000 w/ low mileage and not paying a large premium for low miles should be easy. I'd look at carmax online to get a gauge on prices, and then discount the carmax price by 10-15% for a private individual purchase.
The warranty issue is a good point. If you want to limit depr., I'd either get a car that is 1) out of warranty already or 2) buy one which is new enough and has a low enough amount of miles that the warranty will still exist when you sell it in a year. You will probably take a little extra depr. hit if you buy a car in warranty and it then goes out of it in the year of your ownership. The factory warranty is 3/36. Of course, buying a car in warranty has value, so this may or may not be good advise for you. You can also find used cars which have the tranferrable extended warranty, which will last past your ownership term of 1 year assuming normal mileage.
Thinking more about it, I'd probably follow pfb's advise. It sounds like this will be a 2nd car? If so the plastic rear window is not as important as a daily driver, since you will likely have the top down most of the time. There are a lot of low mileage S2k's out there, so finding model year 2000 w/ low mileage and not paying a large premium for low miles should be easy. I'd look at carmax online to get a gauge on prices, and then discount the carmax price by 10-15% for a private individual purchase.
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